I am interested in psychology as well as in business management..But confused as what to choose for my UG program ...
Since grade 9th I have been a commerce student ...But before that only I was interested in business management and all...but now I also have interest in psychology because I think it's my thing ...Specially in child psychology ..But now I am so confused that I am not able to choose one course ...Please help me out #psychology or #management
5 answers
Ann Gianoglio Burk, MBA
Ann’s Answer
Hi Inaara,
There are actually a lot of ways to merge these two concepts together into a fulfilling career. Have you ever heard of Industrial Organizational Psychology? Professionals in this field use Psychology within the workplace and in HR. These folks are involved in anything from developing organizational culture to coaching and training. If this is a field you are interested in, then I suggest getting your undergraduate degree in the field that interests you the most. If you feel you will enjoy Psychology courses more, then choose that major. 4 years is a long time to study something, so it helps if you love what you are learning. From there is can get into IOP in your master's. Plus this gives you the option to take Child Psychology courses. Hope this helps!
Ann recommends the following next steps:
Vani’s Answer
It's great that you are thinking about this early on! You have a lot of great options to help you prepare to make this decision.
Vani recommends the following next steps:
Joshua’s Answer
Racheal Noble, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC, NCC
Racheal’s Answer
You can still go into business with a psychology degree...please don't let anyone fool you that you can't. 😉
I too wanted to do business in psychology in undergrad after walking alway from pre-med. Psychology was my major and Organization Leadership and Supervision( similar to business ) was my minor. I had 5 classes for my minor and I had interviews with plenty of business fortune 500 companies. I choose not to pursue any internship or business school because I really felt like my purpose was to the helping profession (similar to yours). I did child and adolescent case management, worked at the health department and now a mental health counselor. My point is there are many route, but once you decide you want to advance, start to narrow down and be a bit more concise in the career path to boost your resume.
Make realistic goals and go over courses related to your goals with your advisor.
Anna’s Answer
I agree with Ann's recommendation around Industrial / Organizational Psychology. I too went into undergraduate having an interest in psychology but I eventually made my way into the I/O Psychology direction before I graduated. I wasn't able to get a formal major in that where I went to school, so I was in the School of Education and Social Policy with a focus on Organizational Studies and I took graduate level I/O courses in the School of Engineering. These days it may be easier to find programs and pursue much more directly.
When I went to get a masters degree, I ended up getting an MBA instead of going the route of the PhD in I/O Psychology. I did that for two reasons. One, the program was two years instead of much longer. And Two, it have much more flexibility and greater pay for jobs when I graduated. I do know many successful people who went the I/O Psychology route too. Many people focus on Organizational Behavior or Organizational Development in MBA programs. There are many stand alone programs that are good too focused on these topics (for example - https://bschool.pepperdine.edu/masters-degree/organization-development/ or https://www.marshall.usc.edu/index.php/faculty-research/centers-excellence/center-effective-organizations). Some people find that a focus in Human Resources is interesting as well as it requires a great deal of organizational psychology understanding to be successful.
Regardless of what you choose for your undergraduate degree, it is really what you do for your extra curricular programs as well as your internships / early jobs out of undergrad that will be the most important. Therefore you should pursue an educational program that is of most interest to you and feel free to adjust your focus if you get into it and decide it is not for you. That is what I did. Twice! And I turned out just fine. :-)
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